The Trogs

Rochemenier and Saumur France, April 14, 2011

We determined to see the Troglodyte village of Rochemenier so left Nantes early with the Trogs on our mind and Alley Oop humming in our heads.  Unfortunately, it didn't dawn on Ron and I, masters of the lost song or lyric, that Alley Oop wasn't by the Trogs at all, but by a group called the Hollywood Argyles.  So much for mastery, huh?

Like most, until this trip, I thought Troglodytes were ancient cave dwellers who lived in neolithic times.  Fact is it is anyone who lives in caves and they still exist.  The settlement at Rochemenier dates from the mid-to-late 1700s with the last family leaving the underground buildings in the early 1900s. 

An old church - above ground

I bet this would bring a pretty price on Antiques Roadshow

I'm guessing this is either a pulpit from which the sermon was preached, or reserved for a high official?









We take stairs downward to enter the old town below ground.

In the shed carved into the earth, an old steam engine

The village in the early 1900s

Millstone

Winery storage (it is France, you know)

Large, group meeting room.
Ron is seen taking one of his largest steps of the trip.

Religious chamber below the church above

Some more of the beautiful and ubiquitous flowers of France.

Perhaps my favorite of my entire visit

Leaving Rochemenier we venture west a few miles to Saumer seeking a cháteau and some food.

Cháteau Saumur

Overlooking the Loire

In the restaurant next to the Cháteau

Three Salade de Gesier s-v-p

On the chair to the left is my favorite hat, but you can't see it.  You can see Ron's, but mine is camouflaged.

Clisson

Clisson visit - April 12, 2011

A short ride from Nantes to Clisson, France

If you haven't figured it out yet, I really like that tree there.

 

The beauty of France is just startling, everywhere you go.

There's that tree again.

Nave of the local church

 While in downtown Clisson visiting the local department of tourism for brochures, etc., I ran into Mark, one of the owner's of John McByrne's Irish Pub in Nantes (a place with which I have some familiarity).  Mark lives in Clisson in a compound that's been in the family for four or five generations.  His brother has a vineyard producing several kinds of wine.  On Mark's suggestion we went and toured the winery and, of course, got a sample or two.  Mark's nephew gave us the tour and he was a great guy, very knowledgeable about the processes.

An old wine press near the winery

A Downtown Nantes Visit

Monday, April 11, 2011

Ron, Donna and I went downtown stopping by the main cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul.  Construction began in 1434 and was completed in 1891, a mere 457 years later.  As they say, something worth doing well is worth taking your time over.

Like all, beautifully constructed by artisans, not builders.

The faces are so varied and, often, puzzling, that one wonders exactly what they were trying to tell us.

And then, sometimes, there are no faces and you wonder if erosion, or disfavor, created the effect.










Inside the cathedral (courtesy of Donna)

The Nave

The Cathedral's view

The figure on the top of the obelisk is Louis XVI, one of only four commemorative statues of the king that survived the Revolution.












A short walk and we are at the Cháteau de la Duchess Anne de Britagne.  Anne is a revered figure in Britagne because of her efforts to maintain, if not the sovereignty of Breton, at least its political independence from the Kings of France.  To do this the girl married three times, two requiring annulments by the Pope.  Popes are convenient things when kingdoms and independence are concerned.  Her first marriage to Maximilian I of Austria, was by proxy one before her fourteenth birthday.  This didn't garner the Germanic protection for Britagne that her father desired and, after his defeat by Charles VIII of France and one of those convenient annulments by the Pope she married Charles VIII becoming Queen of France.  After his death, to again secure the political independence of Britagne, she married Louis XII after he obtained one of those convenient Papal annulments from his wife, Joan, daughter of Louis XI and sister to Anne's deceased husband Charles VIII.  Anyone have a scorecard at this point?

Atop the ramparts.

Inside the walls.

One of my favorite gargoyles

This was created to express my bewilderment upon discovering my brother shared many of the traits of Tim Conway's  half-stepping, shuffling old-man-in-slow-motion character on the Carol Burnett show.  You can time him through a 10-yard walk with a sundial.

A current resident of the Cháteau 

A local family in the moat.

Ron and Donna with Duchesse Anne

Ron and I at my favorite Nantes' watering hole, John McByrnes' Irish Pub.